United States Foreign Relations Malaysia

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's allegations that a Jewish conspiracy helped cause his country's currency plunge are not only preposterous but harmful, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday in the strongest foreign response yet to the claim. Mahathir's allegations came in the wake of a monetary crisis that has devastated a number of Southeast Asian currencies since July.

In 1997, Madeleine Albright gave Asia an object lesson in American moxie by dressing up as Madonna, tucking a red rose behind her ear, and poking fun at some of Asia's most-buttoned-down leaders in a song set to the tune of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." On Friday, the secretary of state did it again, this time with a sayonara ditty set to the tune of "Thanks for the Memories."

In 1997, Madeleine Albright gave Asia an object lesson in American moxie by dressing up as Madonna, tucking a red rose behind her ear, and poking fun at some of Asia's most-buttoned-down leaders in a song set to the tune of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." On Friday, the secretary of state did it again, this time with a sayonara ditty set to the tune of "Thanks for the Memories."

The furor that erupted at a key Pacific Rim summit here after Vice President Al Gore criticized Malaysia's human rights record reveals, in part, the deep gap between Asian sensitivities and brash American ways. Leaders from Australia, Canada, Indonesia and the Philippines previously had expressed concern for the plight of imprisoned Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Secretary of State James A. Baker III flew nearly halfway across the globe Friday, with plans to stop in Los Angeles over the weekend, in his search for votes for a U.N. resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. Baker left Saudi Arabia in the evening on a 16-hour flight to Colombia. From there he planned to fly to Los Angeles today to meet the foreign minister of Malaysia, which, like Colombia, is a member of the U.N. Security Council.

In a confrontation with an increasingly important ally, the United States on Monday bluntly castigated Malaysia on highly sensitive economic and diplomatic issues during Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's final day of talks with leaders of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. Senior U.S.

The White House has quietly downgraded the status of President Clinton's planned trip to Malaysia for a 21-nation economic summit next month to avoid appearing to endorse the increasingly repressive rule of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, according to senior U.S. officials. In a sign of U.S. displeasure with Mahathir's heavy-handed policies after 17 years in power, aides said Clinton will not "officially" visit Malaysia while he attends the Nov.

The furor that erupted at a key Pacific Rim summit here after Vice President Al Gore criticized Malaysia's human rights record reveals, in part, the deep gap between Asian sensitivities and brash American ways. Leaders from Australia, Canada, Indonesia and the Philippines previously had expressed concern for the plight of imprisoned Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The United States and Japan put aside their differences Monday and jointly announced $10 billion in new initiatives to revive Asia's economies, even as Vice President Al Gore sparked a high-level spat in announcing it. In a speech largely devoted to the U.S.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had flown 20 hours nonstop, spent an exhausting night working the phones on Iraq, endured a numbing day of talk on trade and tariffs, and was rushing to catch another 20-hour flight home. So Albright was understandably testy Sunday afternoon when a Malaysian government minister criticized her planned meeting with the wife of Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister who is imprisoned here on charges of sodomy and abuse of power.

The United States and Japan put aside their differences Monday and jointly announced $10 billion in new initiatives to revive Asia's economies, even as Vice President Al Gore sparked a high-level spat in announcing it. In a speech largely devoted to the U.S.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had flown 20 hours nonstop, spent an exhausting night working the phones on Iraq, endured a numbing day of talk on trade and tariffs, and was rushing to catch another 20-hour flight home. So Albright was understandably testy Sunday afternoon when a Malaysian government minister criticized her planned meeting with the wife of Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister who is imprisoned here on charges of sodomy and abuse of power.

The White House has quietly downgraded the status of President Clinton's planned trip to Malaysia for a 21-nation economic summit next month to avoid appearing to endorse the increasingly repressive rule of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, according to senior U.S. officials. In a sign of U.S. displeasure with Mahathir's heavy-handed policies after 17 years in power, aides said Clinton will not "officially" visit Malaysia while he attends the Nov.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's allegations that a Jewish conspiracy helped cause his country's currency plunge are not only preposterous but harmful, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday in the strongest foreign response yet to the claim. Mahathir's allegations came in the wake of a monetary crisis that has devastated a number of Southeast Asian currencies since July.

In a confrontation with an increasingly important ally, the United States on Monday bluntly castigated Malaysia on highly sensitive economic and diplomatic issues during Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's final day of talks with leaders of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. Senior U.S.

Malaysia warned Third World nations Friday to resist the hijacking of the Rio Earth Summit by a United States seeking to turn the meeting into a "forestry finger-pointing exercise." "This is an economic war. The North is using such tactics to try to stay on top of this economic war," he said. "Malaysia is in the forefront to prevent the U.S. hijacking," he told reporters.

When he was arrested last November, Kerry L. Wiley of Sacramento was accused by Malaysian authorities of having 477.5 grams of marijuana in his room in a Kuala Lumpur suburb. This was a little more than a pound, and in the United States, Wiley would face at worst a misdemeanor charge of possession. But this is Malaysia, and when Wiley goes on trial next month he will face a charge of drug trafficking, which on conviction means a mandatory death sentence.

Malaysians and the American Soybean Assn. have decided to halt a bitter feud about a U.S. campaign that said palm oil consumption causes heart disease, a Malaysian palm industry official said Wednesday. Both sides have agreed to stop portraying competing products in a negative light, effective immediately, a Malaysian Oil Palm Growers Council statement said.

Secretary of State James A. Baker III flew nearly halfway across the globe Friday, with plans to stop in Los Angeles over the weekend, in his search for votes for a U.N. resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. Baker left Saudi Arabia in the evening on a 16-hour flight to Colombia. From there he planned to fly to Los Angeles today to meet the foreign minister of Malaysia, which, like Colombia, is a member of the U.N. Security Council.

July 23, 1990 | ROBERT W. STEWART and MAURA REYNOLDS, TIMES STAFF WRITERS

Two Orange County congressmen are moving to stave off the collapse of a fragile international agreement governing the fate of tens of thousands of Vietnamese boat people, but they are attacking the problem from nearly opposite perspectives. "It's good cop, bad cop," said Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), who represents more Vietnamese-Americans than any other member of Congress.